FINLAND – EUROPE – A group of companies with a wide span of abilities have embarked on a three year trial to explore how suitable fuel oils made from biomass and waste plastics are for power plants and marine diesel engines. The aim is to determine the most ecologically and economically sustainable way to replace fossil fuels, particularly for use in ships and heavy equipment on land.

Internal-combustion engine power plants use natural gas or heavy fuel oil in diesel engines. In order for large diesel engines to be environmentally sustainable both on land and at sea, it is necessary to find bio- and waste-based alternatives to fossil fuels. These will be identified and evaluated in the BioFlex project. The project has a budget of €1.6 million and is co-financed by Business Finland, VTT, Auramarine, Fortum, Neste, Pohjanmaan Hy?tyj?tekuljetus, Polartek, St1, Valmet and W?rtsil?. CTO Ilkka Rytk?l? from Auramarine, a supplier of fuel injection systems, comments:

In theory, bio- or waste-based fuel oil could be identical to fossil fuel oil in chemical composition. In practice, however, the objective is a similar oil that does not require significant modifications to diesel engines when used. It is also essential that the oil keeps well in storage, mixes with fossil oils and keeps sulphur, nitrogen and particulate emissions low.

“Our goal is to find the most ecologically and economically sustainable way to replace fossil heavy fuel oil in ship and power plant diesel engines. We compare different methods of industrially producing fuel oils from, for example, waste plastics or biomass, such as harvest residues from forestry and agriculture. We are also conducting experiments to examine the suitability of the oils for applications.”

Source: handyshippingguide

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